Just Meant To Be
by projectrunwayluver
Summary: Luna Lovegood has been called Loony ever since she started at Hogwarts. What happens to her when she actually makes friends for the first time during her fourth year? What happens when one boy understands the pain of being teased? The lives of Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom will be completely changed when Dumbledore's Army starts. AU. OOTP to DH. Sorry no lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So I've been thinking about Neville a lot lately and how awesome he is. To be perfectly honest its very hard to find a good Neville Fanfic so I've decided to make my own. Besides he deserves a good story and I think Luna will be good for him. I will go back and forth between Neville and Luna's perspectives in this story and it will go from Order of the Phoenix to the Deathly Hallows. In other words it will end up being long. I want to thank **_**Anotherboarduser**_** for giving me the idea to have Neville and Luna together. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.**

_**Luna POV**_

I walked towards the train a copy of the_ Quibbler_ held tightly in one hand, my other pulling my trunk and my wand was tucked behind my ear to keep it safe. The last this I needed was to lose my wand... again. Losing it once had been bad enough.

"Look there's Loony Lovegood," someone whispered then giggled. I turned slowly, making sure my eyes were as wide as possible. For some reason my unfortunately large silvery gray eyes made people nervous. It was a sixth year girl with dark hair. I smiled slowly at her and continued to the train as if nothing had happened.

It was easy to find an empty compartment since I had left so early. Father had been busy coming out with a new issue. He had kissed me on my forehead then sent me on the knight bus. To be perfectly honest I hadn't liked it. Made me rather nauseous actually.

I opened one of the compartments that was empty and took a seat. It was nice to have a compartment to myself. I unfolded my copy of the _Quibbler_ and promptly flipped it upside down. There was an article on Ancient Runes and that there was a hidden spell within then that you could use it to turn your enemy's ears into kumquats. A rather brilliant idea.

I was just starting to make some headway on the curse when the compartment door slid open. My eyes darted up and a small smile curved my lips. It was Ginny Weasley and she was one of the few who actually stood up for me.

"Hi, Luna," Ginny said, "is it okay if we take these seats?"

My eyes flicked over to the two other boys who had followed her in. One had dark messy hair and glasses that were taped. It was Harry, Harry Potter. His famous scar barely peaked out from between his hair but it was still noticeable. He was hated at the moment since he had told everyone that Voldemort was back. I believed him. He had no reason to lie.

The other boy was somewhat tall with blonde hair. His face was on the rounder side and he seemed to be a little bit thicker around the middle. I narrowed my eyes at him... he looked familiar.

After a moment I nodded to Ginny, yes they could stay. Hopefully I wasn't making a huge mistake. I watched as the three of them came into the small compartment. Ginny sat next to me while Harry sat across from me. His eyes were trained on me then turned to look at the other boy who was pointedly looking the other way.

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," I said simply, without taking my eyes off Harry. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. _You're _Harry Potter."

"I know I am," Harry said his eyebrows drawing together.

The other boy laughed and I turned to look at him. A slight flush crossed his cheeks. "And I don't know who you are."

"I'm nobody," the boy said quickly. I felt my stomach drop like a stone. He thought I was weird too.

"No you're not," Ginny said sharply with a pointed glare. "Neville Longbottom – Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"_Wit_ _beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_," I said in a little singsong voice. Neville and Harry exchanged a look before turning back to me.

I raised the Quibbler back up after a moment and started to read again. The others started to talk again after a little bit about some plant Neville had gotten for his birthday. To be perfectly honest it looked repulsive and disgusting. It was gray and what looked like large boils. I was about to ask what its name was when Neville poked it sharply with a quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking, dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered my magazine; Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. It smelled like rancid manure.

Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes.

"S-sorry," he gasped. 'I haven't tried that before… didn't realize it would be quite so… don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous," he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful on to the floor. I shook my magazine and watched as the Stinksap slid off.

At that precise moment the door of their compartment slid open. It was the girl who had called me Loony. I pointedly looked out the window.

"Oh… hello, Harry," she said in a nervous voice. "Urn… bad time?"

"Oh… hi," Harry said blankly his cheeks flushing.

"Urn…" the girl said. "Well… just thought I'd say hello… bye then."

Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. I raised my eyebrows before turning back to the _Quibbler_.

"Never mind," Ginny said briskly. "Look, we can easily get rid of all this." She pulled out her wand. "_Scourgify_!"

The Stinksap vanished.

"Sorry," Neville said again, in a small voice. The three of them started talking about Quidditch and I turned back to my magazine. The smiling witch with the trolley came by and I got some ice mice, they were my favorite. Neville and Harry were swapping chocolate frog cards when the compartment door opened again. It was a boy and a girl. The boy I'm fairly was Ginny's brother since they had the same red hair. But the girl. I didn't recognize her. She had a pretty smile and large bushy hair.

The boy and girl started to talk with Harry about a prefect meeting. They were listing all of the new prefects. One of the names they mentioned I recognized. Padma Patil. A very nice girl who had stuck up for me before many times. A thought came to me and I looked up at the red haired boy.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," I said slowly.

Everyone turned to look at me and I stared at the boy unblinkingly. He swallowed his mouthful of chocolate Frog before responding.

"Yeah, I know I did," he said, looking mildly surprised.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," I informed him. "She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded," I added thoughtfully, "I don't like dancing very much."

Everyone was staring at me in various forms of shock. After an uncomfortable moment I turned back to the magazine. The rest of the ride seemed uneventful. Hermione, that was the bushy haired girls name, insulted the Quibbler and some mean Slytherins were making snide comments to Harry. Hermione pushed them out of the compartment her hair almost sparking with her anger. Ron, the red haired boy, ate more chocolate frogs than I could in a week.

Once we got closer to Hogwarts we all got our uniforms on. Neville slid his cactus looking plant back into his back and Hermione pinned her prefect badge on her shirt. I grabbed the cage of a small owl that kept hooting shrilly. Ron nodded at me in thanks and made his way out into the hallway. I followed slowly and made my way down the steps. One of the many thestrals that pulled the carriages turned towards me and fluttered its wings.

I was back. A smile slid across my face. I was back to my favorite place in the world. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the few places I actually felt safe.

**AN: Please Review! Tell me what you love, what you hate, anything. It helps me know where to go with the stories from your reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

** AN: So I have eight different Fanfics going and it will be difficult to update one specific story multiple times in one week. Its just a little warning for the future. If you have any specific pairings that you would like to see just ask and I'll see if I can make it work. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.**

_**Luna POV**_

I sat next to the Gryffindors in the carriage. Neville kept looking at me nervously, his eyes wide. Was he scared of me?

"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" Ginny asked. "What's she doing back here Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," I said absently, "he isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" Harry, Ron and Ginny snapped angrily. I looked at all of them surprised, they were kidding right?

Harry glared at Hermione. She cleared her throat and quickly said, "Erm… yes… he's very good."

"Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke," I said with a little shrug.

"You've got a rubbish sense of humour then," Ron snapped, as the wheels below us creaked

into motion. I looked him over. What made him like Professor Hagrid so much? Maybe it was his personality?

The carriage continued up to the castle. I stared out the window and looked up at the stars. They were absolutely gorgeous. I loved the stars, always had. There was just something about them.

The carriage stopped and I carefully stepped out of the carriage. I did not want to fall out like I had last year. The Thestral turned to look at me and I smiled at it. They really were beautiful creatures.

"Are you coming or what?" Ron snapped loudly. I turned around and smiled sadly at Harry, he could see the Thestrals too.

"Oh… yeah," Harry said turning around slowly. His eyes widened when he realized I could see them too.

"Don't worry... I can see them too." I said with a little smile of reassurance. He paled and quickly ran up the steps into the castle.

I followed after Harry up the steps but was stopped by a hand on my arm.

"Can you really see them?" Neville asked softly his eyes wide.

"I've been able to see them since my first year." I said simply tilting my head to the side.

"What? How?" He asked looking confused.

"Its only people who've seen death that can see them." I said with a little shrug of my shoulders then ran up the steps. The great hall was just as beautiful as usual, the gold plates glittering brilliantly in the light. I sat at the Ravenclaw next to Helena Ravenclaw, the Ravenclaw ghost. She was just as shy as I could be sometimes.

She and I talked quietly while she avoided the Bloody Baron's black staring eyes.

"Hey Luna," Padma Patil said sitting across from me.

"Hi Padma, congratulations on becoming a prefect." I said nodding at her badge.

"Thanks, how was your summer?" She asked tilting her head slightly. I told all about Daddy and I experimenting on Gurdyroots and finding the best way to make it taste better because honestly it tasted like moldy raisins even though it was good for you.

Padma shushed me suddenly and I turned around. The first years were nervously walking in looking around in awe. McGonagall placed the sorting hat on a chair in front of the students.

Everyone waited quietly. What would the sorting hat say this year? Then the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song:

_In times of old when I was new And Hogwarts barely started _

_The founders of our noble school _

_Thought never to be parted: United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning._

_'Together we will build and teach!'_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might some day be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest.'_

_Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest.'_

_Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name,'_

_Said Hufflepuff, Til teach the lot,_

_And treat them just the same.'_

_These differences caused little strife  
When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus the houses and their founders_

_Retained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears._

_The houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four_

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether Sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you…_

_Let the Sorting now begin._

Padma and I exchanged surprised looks. I guess the hat decided it was its duty to tell the students what was best to keep us strong. I was in so much shock I barely heard the sorting of the first years. One of the new girls sat next to me with a little smile.

Finally Dumbledore stood up.

"To our newcomers," Dumbledore said in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Padma and I talked quietly about classes while the first year girl, Evie, kept looking around nervously.

"Are you excited for classes?" I asked Evie.

"Yes but I'm afraid I won't do well." She said looking around nervously.

"What? Why?" Padma asked looking confused.

"Because I'm Muggle-born." She muttered blushing.

"Oh it'll be fine, everyone starts from the same place." I said reassuringly.

Suddenly Dumbledore stood up from his spot and the great hall grew quiet. "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause, while other students stared at the strange woman. She looked like a little, fat, pink toad.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the –"

He stopped and turned to Umbridge who had rudely cleared her throat. Some of the students looked shocked while the teachers looked furious. I had never heard any new teacher interrupt Dumbledore before.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome." Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish. Something about it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

I looked around, no one was smiling.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins. Was she nuts?

Umbridge cleared her throat again.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them tor ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Professor Umbridge paused here and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back to her. Professor McGonagall's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawklike, and I watched as she exchanged a significant glance with Professor Sprout. Umbridge gave another little '_hem, hem' _and went on with her speech.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"

This woman liked to talk way too much. I pulled my edition of the Quibbler and shared it with Evie who looked bored to tears. We giggled over some of the pictures in here. Daddy did a good job with this issue.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," Dumbledore suddenly said, I looked up just in time to see him bow to her. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," Padma said in a low voice.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Evie said quietly, turning a glazed face towards Padma. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard."

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable," Padma said. "It explained a lot."

"Did it?" I said in surprise. "Sounded like a load of waffle to me."

"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle," Padma said grimly.

"Was there?" Evie asked blankly.

"How about: 'progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'? How about: 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"

"Well, what does that mean?' Evie asked tilting her head to the side.

"I'll tell you what it means," Padma growled through gritted teeth. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

**AN: Please Review! It helps much more than you realize.**


	3. Chapter 3

** AN: I am so sorry I have updated in two months. I've been having serious writer's block with this story and wasn't completely sure where I wanted to go with this. I love Luna and Neville and want their story to flow well. I'm hoping now that I've recently finished one of my other stories that I'll be able to update this one more. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.**

** _Neville POV_**

I silently ate my breakfast trying to ignore the looks Seamus and Lavender were giving Harry. His eyes were dark and he looked angry. To be perfectly honest I couldn't blame him for being upset. If I had seen You-Know-Who come back and no one believed me I would be furious too. But at the same time there was something strange about his anger. As if it wasn't completely his own. Strange.

I ignored the people around me eating my bowl of porridge as sudden whooshing noises were heard overhead. The morning mail had arrived.

My Gran's owl, Artimus, dove fast carrying a package and a letter. "Thanks Arty, want some porridge?"

He hooted angrily and took flight. Was it something I said? I shook my head and quickly opened the letter.

_Neville,_

_ You only forgot five things this time. That is very good compared to last year when you forgot nine. And the year before that when you lost your third Remembrall on the train._

Funny how _she_ forgot that I lost it when Dementors swarmed the train. I looked down and continued to read.

_ I am hoping you will work hard on your studies, especially since it's your O.W.L.s this year. Do your best and live up to what your parents expectations would have been. They would be as proud of you as I am. Same with your grandfather, may he rest in piece._

_ Now on a side note. I want you to do everything you can to reach out to Harry Potter. He is a good friend of yours and should know that you stand with him. I have a feeling he will be quite lonely in the coming months since most people do not believe Lord Voldemort is back. _

I squeaked at his name. Gran had never been afraid to say _his_ name. And she told me on countless occasions that my parents said his name too. I sighed and kept reading.

_ Don't be foolish but make sure your not afraid to voice your opinions. You are in Gryffindor and you were placed there for a reason._

_ Have a good term. Don't be afraid to write or ask questions._

Yeah right!_ Like I want you to rip me to shreds with your harsh words! I love you gran but sometimes your words hurt!_ I wanted to say that to her but I never would. Didn't have the courage. I let my eyes go back to the letter.

_ Love, Gran_

I sighed and folded up the letter. It took me a moment to shove it to the bottom of my bag. I loved my Gran very much but sometimes she could be too harsh. She was always telling me that I needed to be braver, work harder, study more, practice every chance I had so I could uphold the family name like my father had before me.

"Mr. Longbottom," I looked up at Professor McGonagall. Her face was stern and her lips were pursed in agitation. She must have asked me something and I hadn't heard her.

"Yes?" I asked swallowing thickly.

"Your timetable." She said placing a piece of parchment in front of me. I read over the page quickly and groaned in the back of my throat. History of Magic, Double Potions, Divination and Defense Against the Dart Arts. History of Magic was easily the most boring class Hogwarts had to offer even though it was taught by a ghost. Potions was taught by Snape and he hated me with a passion. Almost as much as Harry which was saying something. In Divination Professor Trelawney predicted accidents and deaths at every turn. It was terrifying, always wondering if it was true.

The only hope possible to salvage the day would be Defense Against the Dark Arts. No one knew what kind of teacher Umbridge would be but everyone was nervous. Who knew what she would try to teach us.

History of Magic was just as boring as I had feared. Someone had opened the window and there was a lovely warm breeze coming through the window. Half of the class had fallen asleep within the first five minutes. I tried to pay attention but Professor Binns had a droning voice that lulled me to a state where I was partially asleep. He talked about goblin rebellions and it seemed Hermione was the only one taking notes on the other side of the room.

In Potions class Professor Snape picked a hard potion and no matter what I did to it it just kept getting thicker. By the end of class (after Snape had vanished Harry's potion) I had to gouge out the potion which now had the consistency of drying cement. Lovely. I had a feeling this _wasn't_ what Gran had meant when she told me to work hard.

During Divination Trelawney had us looking through _The Dream Oracle._ Dean Thomas and I had been paired together. Since I didn't want to talk about my real dreams I quickly made one up about a giant scissors wearing Gran's best hat. Dean chuckled as he flipped through the book trying to interpret the fake dream.

My real dreams were usually nightmares. About my parents. And how they had ended up in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I shiver raced down my spine and tried to pay attention to Dean, who was saying that my dream meant I was going to get a terrible bout of the flu in February.

"How did it come up with that?" I asked flipping back and forth through the book. Dean laughed and shook his head.

"No clue." He leaned closer to me then whispered, "I hope Defense Against the Dark Arts is better than this."

"Same." I said stopping on a page about dreaming about torture.

"When do you think the bell will ring?" I shrugged letting my eyes rove over the page quickly wanting to read every word and at the same time wanting to slam it shut. It seemed like the universe decided for me when the bell rang shrilly.

"For homework keep track of one month of dreams in diary." Trelawney said in a misty voice. Dean and I groaned as we made our way out the door.

"Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts will be better." I said hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe." Dean said shaking his head.

** AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize and it also motivates me to update the story more.**


	4. Chapter 4

** AN: I am very sorry to those of you who follow this story. It is sometimes difficult for me to update some stories. I hope to update this story more in the near future. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.**

** _Neville POV_**

Everyone was excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts but it didn't take us long to realize that Umbridge didn't want to teach us. It was something about her sweetly saccharine smile that made me nervous, and then she told us to read from our books.

At first I tried, really I did, but the material was extremely dull. In fact is was rather childish. It went over how to correctly grip your wand. Of all the things they could teach us, why would she ask us to read something like this?! It was first year material!

While I was reading Hermione raised her hand. It was hard to ignore her since she was sitting across from me so I started to watch her instead. For years I had secretly been crushing on her but she had made it perfectly clear in our fourth year that she thought of me as a friend and nothing more.

It took me a moment to realize I had been staring at Hermione and I flushed in embarrassment but I was no longer the only person staring at her. Half the class was watching Hermione as she wildly waved her hand back and forth. Umbridge was resolutely staring out the window trying to hide her annoyance but her face was red.

After another few minutes Umbridge finally turned to Hermione, a dark frown on her toad-like face but she quickly hid it.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" She asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.

"Not about the chapter, no," Hermione said.

"Well, we're reading just now," Professor Umbridge said, showing her small pointed teeth. She reminded me of a vampire. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," Hermione said.

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows, her nose flaring.

"And your name is?"

"Hermione Granger," said Hermione.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully." Professor Umbridge said in a voice of determined sweetness.

"Well, I don't," Hermione said candidly. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive

spells."

There was a deafening silence as everyone turned to look at the board and reread the course aims Umbridge had put up there.

_Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

_Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

Hermione was right. What the hell was the ministry thinking?!

"Using defensive spells?" Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron exclaimed loudly.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr-?" Umbridge said her eye twitching.

"Weasley," Ron said, thrusting his hand into the air.

Professor Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on him. Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge's pouchy eyes lingered on Harry for a moment before she addressed Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" Professor Umbridge asked, in her falsely sweet voice.

"No, but —"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way —"

"What use is that?" Harry said loudly. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a —"

"Hand, Mr. Potter!" Professor Umbridge sang off key.

Harry thrust his fist in the air. Again, Professor Umbridge promptly turned away from him, but now several other people had their hands up, too. I wanted to raise my hand too but I was too nervous. This was probably the kind of thing Gran would want me to figure out since something felt off, wrong, about all of this.

"And your name is?" Professor Umbridge said to Dean.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" Dean said. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat," Professor Umbridge said, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Dean, "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but —"

Professor Umbridge talked over him. "I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school," she said, an unconvincing smile stretching her wide mouth, it gave me the willies, "but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention," she gave a nasty little laugh, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."

I stiffened and I could hear Harry growl angrily.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," Dean piped up angrily, "he was the best we ever —"

"_Hand_, Mr. Thomas! As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day —"

"No we haven't," Hermione said, "we just —"

_ "Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!"_

Hermione put up her hand. Professor Umbridge turned away from her. She flushed angrily but kept her hand in the air.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you."

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" Dean said hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads."

"_Your hand is not up, Mr Thomas_!" Professor Umbridge trilled. "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" She added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter-curses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," Professor Umbridge said dismissively. My mouth dropped open in shock. Was she stupid or willfully ignoring us?

"Without ever practicing them beforehand?" Parvati said incredulously. "Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough —"

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry said loudly, his fist in the air again.

Professor Umbridge looked up.

"This is school, Mr Potter, not the real world," she said softly.

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?"

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."

"Oh, yeah?" Harry said his voice dark.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Professor Umbridge inquired in a horribly honeyed voice.

"Hmm, let's think…" Harry said in a mock thoughtful voice. "Maybe… _Lord Voldemort_?!"

Ron gasped; Lavender Brown uttered a little scream; and I slipped sideways off my stool. Professor Umbridge, however, did not flinch. She was staring at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."

The classroom was silent and still. Everyone was staring at either Umbridge or Harry. I was staring at Harry in awe, I wish I had that kind of courage.

"Now, let me make a few things quite plain."

Professor Umbridge stood up and leaned towards them, her stubby-fingered hands splayed on her desk.

"You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead —"

"He wasn't dead," Harry said angrily his hands fisted at his sides, "but yeah, he's returned!"

"Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," said Professor Umbridge in one breath without looking at him. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is _a lie_."

"It is NOT a lie!" Harry said. "I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr Potter!" Professor Umbridge said triumphantly. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is _a lie_. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners'."

Professor Umbridge sat down behind her desk. Harry, however, stood up. Everyone was staring at him; Seamus looked half-scared, half-fascinated. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest. What was he going to do?

"Harry, no!" Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked

his arm out of her reach. Her lip trembled but she quickly shook her head in defeat.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry asked, his voice shaking.

A huge gasp went around the room. I watched Harry silently my eyes wide. No one, apart from Ron and Hermione, had ever heard Harry talk about what had happened on the night Cedric had died.

Everyone stared avidly from Harry to Professor Umbridge, who had raised her eyes and was staring at him without a trace of a fake smile on her face.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly.

"It was murder," Harry said. He was visibly shaking. He had hardly spoken to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. "Voldemort killed him and you know it."

Professor Umbridge's face was quite blank. For a moment, I thought she was going to scream at him. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, "Come here, Mr. Potter, dear."

He kicked his chair aside, strode around Ron and Hermione and up to the teacher's desk. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Harry looked furious and for a moment his eyes flashed red.

Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink and started scribbling, hunched over. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that he could not open it.

"Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear," Professor Umbridge said, holding out the note to

him.

Harry took it and walked out of the room without a backward glance. Merlin. I had never been so wrong in my life. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a hundred times worse than Divination. Umbridge, was absolutely barmy. In fact she was slightly terrifying.

**AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I think about the story more. The more I think about it the more I create new twists and turns for the story and I end up updating more. Which in the end makes everyone happy.**


	5. Chapter 5

** AN: I hope to update this story more but I'm not sure if that will happen or not (I hope it does though). It's just easier to write some stories more than others and for some reason this story is harder for me to write. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's and anything you don't is mine.**

** _Luna POV_**

"He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered…"

"He reckons he dueled with You-Know-Who…"

"Come off it…"

"Who does he think he's kidding?"

"Pur-lease…"

"What's going on?" I asked Padma, as I sat down in my usual spot at the Ravenclaw table. Padma opened her mouth to speak but Evie came running in and sat down on the other side of the table.

"Is it true?" Evie asked excitedly, her cheeks flushed.

"Is what true?" I asked, looking around at all the gossiping students who kept staring at Harry, Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

"That Harry Potter fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named after he killed a boy." My eyes widened and I slowly turned to look at Padma. Her eyes were large and she looked towards her twin sister at the Gryffindor table.

"Yes, it's true." Padma said, swallowing loudly before turning back to look at us.

"I already knew that," I said, absently waving my hand through the air. "Dumbledore told us that months ago and I trust Dumbledore."

"Yes but —"

"But what?" I asked, looking up from my shepherds pie.

"Well, you know what the Daily Prophet says." Padma said, nervously running a hand through her hair.

I snorted a laugh, "You believe that rag? Mr. Fudge can't be trusted and he has his hands all over the Daily Prophet, the only thing that isn't afraid to print the truth is what my father writes." I said before picking up the Quibbler.

_**Neville POV**_

The first week of classes were making me feel absolutely barmy. All the teachers talked about was O.W.L.s and I wanted to scream. Yes, I knew O.W.L.s would be this year but that didn't mean I wanted to hear about it nonstop. I knew I would be lucky to pass half of the courses. But there was one thing I was absolutely sure of, no matter how hard I tried I would fail potions. I only hoped I wouldn't get a troll score. Gran would never let me forget it.

Care of Magical Creatures was interesting but barely held my attention. Unfortunately because of the my bowtruckle stabbed me with its sharp fingers. I had to wrap my handkerchief around my finger before following after Harry, Ron and Hermione. They came to a stop when Ginny Weasley came out of the greenhouse, she smiled widely at Harry but I barely noticed. Luna was standing behind Ginny, her hair was in a small knot on top her head. When she looked up her gray eyes shimmered in the light. I blinked and smiled at the smudge of dirt on her nose. She looked... she looked so... cute. My eyes widened with the realization.

Luna ran forward when she saw Harry and told him that she believed him about You-Know-Who but I was distracted by her large gray eyes and the way her hair was slipping out of the knot. Hermione, unfortunately, insulted Luna and her eyes sparked. I had never seen her so sober before. She flounced away her radish earrings swinging madly as she stomped up to the castle.

"Hey Luna, wait up!" I yelled, pushing past Harry, Ron and Hermione. She turned around slowly, a defensive set to her shoulders. Luna relaxed the moment she realized it was me. A small smile flitted across her face.

"Yes, Neville?" She said softly. I opened my mouth to say something, anything. But the words got caught in my throat. I didn't even know what I wanted to say.

"Nice weather, isn't it?" Neville Longbottom, you are an idiot.

"Yes, quite." Luna said before turning around and walking through the doorway. Her skirt fluttered up and I caught sight of her creamy white skin. Good Merlin... I had it bad. I blinked owlishly before running through the doorway wanting more than anything to melt through the stones of the hallway.

**AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I think about the story more. The more I think about it the more I create new twists and turns for the story and I end up updating more. Which in the end makes everyone happy.**


	6. Chapter 6

** AN: I hope to update this story more but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. It's just easier to write some stories more than others and for some reason this story is harder for me to write. It will be difficult for me to update the closer it gets to the holidays. Oh and on a little side note this story will be long. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's and anything you don't is mine.**

_**Luna POV**_

The first month of classes passed slowly. The only person who talked to me without giggling about my appearance was Ginny Weasley. A pretty sixth year Ravenclaw that I could never remember the name of tripped me in the halls every chance she got. I was covered in bruises from the experience.

I walked down the hall away Professor McGonagall's classroom and passed Harry Potter in the hall. He looked rather pale and sickly and had a handkerchief wrapped around his hand. I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it.

I shook my head and quickly made my way to the Ravenclaw tower and answered the eagle's question easily before making my way up the steps into the common room. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Ever table in the room was covered with books and papers as people studied. I crossed the room and lowered myself into one of the empty, squishy armchairs by the fireplace. Padma looked up from her homework and smiled at me for a moment before going back to her work. She was flipping back and forth between two pages biting her lip hard.

I took a deep breath and pulled the Quibbler out from my back pocket and started to read. Daddy had written about the Minister for Magic and that he was making goblins into pies. I could see that. All Fudge cared about was covering things up that he didn't agree with and he didn't like goblins. Just like Professor Umbridge was afraid of centaurs. I had asked a simple question about them and she had given me a detention so fast it made my head spin. The detention had almost been more than I could handle. At least the blood quill hadn't left a scar. I stared down at my hand and sighed. It was pulpy and bruised.

Suddenly there was the sound of pounding feet up the steps. Evie appeared a moment later and ran over to me her face flushed with excitement, her brown pigtails flying through the air.

"Luna!" She stopped in front of my her breath coming out in little pants.

"What? What is it?" I asked my eyes wide.

"Harry Potter and his friends are making a Defense Against the Dark Arts class!" She said between huge gulps of breath. "Anyone who wants to join needs to go to the Hogs Head on the next Hogsmeade trip."

"What?!" I asked my eyes wide. "But that's two days from now!"

"I know... could you put in a good word for me?" Evie said her hands shaking. "I want to be able to protect myself."

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can."

_**Neville POV**_

Dean, Lavender and I walked down the street bundled up with scarves, mittens and hats. It was windy which made it rather cold.

"Come on, lets hurry!" Dean yelled over the wind, wrapping his arm around Lavender's waist. They had been going out since the Yule Ball the previous year.

The three of us all but ran into the Hogs head. The tip of my nose was so cold it hurt. I pulled off my hat and shook out my hair.

The door opened again and a shiver raced down my spine. "Hello Neville."

I stiffened and slowly turned to look at the ethereal blonde next to me. "H-hi Luna."

She slowly blinked her large gray eyes and a vague smile crossed her face. "How are classes Neville?"

"They're going fine," I mumbled running a hand through my hair.

"That's good," Luna said blinking slowly.

"W-Would you like a butterbeer?" I asked turning to look at her.

"That would be lovely, thank you Neville." A small vague smile crossed her face. She leaned against the wall and let out a small breath.

I crossed the room and stopped at the bar. The bartender turned to me and he glared at me as if I was putting him out. "Two butterbeers please."

"Hmmph." He grumbled pulling two dirty glasses out from under the counter. I couldn't tell you why the man looked familiar but he did.

"Thank you," I said placing a few coins on the counter before crossing the room. Luna didn't even look at me as I passed her the glass. She took a long drink and sighed shiver. My hands shook with the want of wrapping an arm around her but I didn't. Luna and I sat down slowly across from Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry's eyes got bigger and bigger every time someone walked through the doors.

He blinked owlishly around the room then turned and said something to Ron and Hermione. I turned to Luna but she was absently fiddling with her empty glass. Her cheeks were a bright pink and she kept glancing at Cho Chang who was sitting on my other side.

"Luna is something wrong?" I asked softly, so as no one else would hear.

"I'm fine." She mumbled reaching down into into her empty mug for the cherry at the bottom. It took her a couple times to grab it out but she did and popped it in her mouth.

"Want my cherry?" I asked, passing my butterbeer to her.

"Thank you Neville," she said a ghost of a smile crossing her face. I passed her the drink and smiled as she slowly drank it. Her body relaxed the more she drank and I slowly slipped my arm around her shoulders. She didn't notice which both made me upset and grateful.

"Feeling better?" I asked, and she nodded her eyes sparkling. This was it... I should ask her... to do something... anything... study in the library... "Luna would you like —"

"Shhhhh, Hermione's about to start." She said nodding at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"What? How do you —" I started confused but was cut off by Hermione. She stood slowly her cheeks flushed. "Er... well... er... hi..."

"How did you do that?" I whispered in Luna's ear so no one else would hear.

"Magic." She whispered back with a wink.

**AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I think about the story more. The more I think about it the more I create new twists and turns for the story and I end up updating more. Which in the end makes everyone happy.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Good morning everyone and happy Tuesday. I am very sorry for not updating sooner but things beyond my control made it very difficult to update. My laptop died shortly after Christmas and I had end of year filing. I have a borrowed laptop at the moment and I hope that I will be able to use it until I can purchase a replacement. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's and anything you don't is mine.**

_** Luna POV**_

Neville tightened his arm around my shoulder as Hermione started to talk. It was a little distracting but I tried to pay attention to what Hermione was saying.

"Well… erm… well, you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea — I Mean," Harry had thrown Hermione a dark glance, "I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts - and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us —" Hermione's voice was getting stronger and she was standing taller, "— because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts —"

"Hear hear!" Anthony Goldstein yelled, shaking his fist. Hermione beamed brightly.

"— Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands." She paused, looked sideways at Harry, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells —"

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?" Michael Corner asked snidely, who was watching her closely.

"Of course I do," Hermione said at once. "But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defense because… because…" She took a great breath and finished in a rush, "because Lord Voldemort is back."

The reaction was immediate and predictable. One of the mean Ravenclaw girls shrieked and slopped Butterbeer down herself; Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch; Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. I giggled and pressed my lips tightly together but I was the only one who had laughed. Everyone else had turned to Harry excitedly to see how he would react. He didn't even blink.

"Well… that's the plan, anyway," Hermione said. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" A blond Hufflepuff player said in a rather aggressive voice.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it —" Hermione began.

"You mean, Dumbledore believes him," the blond boy said, nodding at Harry who was staring blankly out the window.

"Who are you?" Ron asked, rather rudely.

"Zacharias Smith," the boy said, "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."

"Look," Hermione said, intervening swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about —"

"It's OK, Hermione," Harry said turning his head slowly to look at everyone in the room. There was a rather sad air of resignation about him.

"What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?" he repeated, looking Zacharias straight in the face. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

Everyone in the group seemed to have held their breath while Harry spoke.

"All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know —" Zacharias started angrily but Harry cut him off.

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you," He snapped his eyes flashing. For a moment they looked red but it happened so fast I doubted it had been real. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."

Harry cast an angry look in Hermione's direction. Neville's arm tightened and I shifted myself closer to him.

"So," Hermione said, her voice very high-pitched again. "So… like I was saying… if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet and where we're going to —"

"Is it true," interrupted a girl with a long plait down her back, looking at Harry, "that you can produce a Patronus?"

My eyes widened in shock and Neville gaped at Harry.

"Yeah,' Harry said slightly defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

"Er - you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked.

The girl smiled.

"She's my auntie,' she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So - is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"Blimey, Harry!" A Gryffindor boy with dreadlocks said, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," Fred Weasley said, grinning at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong," Harry mumbled, and Neville and I laughed.

"And did you kill a Basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" Terry Boot demanded. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…"

"Er — yeah, I did, yeah," Harry said.

Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled; the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks and Lavender Brown said "Wow!" softly. Harry was blushing and shifted nervously.

"And in our first year," Neville said to the group at large, "he saved that Philological Stone —"

"Philosopher's," Hermione hissed.

"Yes, that - from You-Know-Who," Neville finished.

Hannah Abbott's eyes were as round as Galleons.

"And that's not to mention," it was the pretty mean girl talking and she only had eyes for Harry, "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year - getting past dragons and merpeople and Acromantula and things…"

'Look,' Harry said after a moment, "I… I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but… I had a lot of help with all that stuff…"

"Not with the dragon, you didn't," Michael Corner said at once. That was a seriously cool bit of flying…"

"Yeah, well —" Harry said, feeling it would be churlish to disagree.

"And nobody helped you get rid of those Dementors this summer," Susan Bones said.

"No," Harry said, "no, OK, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is —"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" Zacharias Smith said. Most of the people in the room turned to glare at him.

"Here's an idea," Ron said loudly, before Harry could speak, "why don't you shut your mouth?"

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it," he said.

"That's not what he said," Fred snarled.

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" George enquired, pulling a long and lethal looking metal instrument from inside one of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," Fred said.

"Yes, well," Hermione said hastily, "moving on… the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?"

There was a murmur of general agreement.

"Right," Hermione said, looking relieved that something had at last been settled. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week —"

"Hang on," Angelina said, 'we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," Cho said, "nor with ours."

"Nor ours," Zacharias Smith added.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," Hermione said, slightly impatiently, "but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters —"

"Well said!" Ernie Macmillan barked. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our OWLs coming up!"

He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry "Surely not!" When nobody spoke, he went on, "I, personally am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells —"

"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said, "is that she's got some… some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry."

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody looked stunned but it didn't bother me. "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."

"What?" Harry asked looking bewildered.

"Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths," I said solemnly.

"No, he hasn't,' Hermione snapped.

"Yes, he has," I said ignoring her.

"What are Heliopaths?" Neville asked, looking blank.

"They're spirits of fire," I said my eyes widening, "great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of —"

"They don't exist, Neville," Hermione tartly said.

"Oh, yes, they do!" I said angrily.

"I'm sorry, but where's the proof of that?" Hermione snapped.

"There are plenty of eye-witness accounts. Just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you —"

"_Hem, hem_," Ginny said, in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. Neville slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it. I blew out a heavy breath and relaxed back in my chair. "Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and have defense lessons?"

"Yes," Hermione said at once, "yes, we were, you're right, Ginny."

"Well, once a week sounds cool," Lee Jordan said.

"As long as —" Angelina began.

"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," Hermione said in a tense voice. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"

This was rather more difficult; the whole group fell silent.

"Library?" Katie Bell suggested after a few moments.

"I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library," Harry said.

"Maybe an unused classroom?" Dean said.

"Yeah," Ron said, "McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard."

"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," Hermione said. "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting.'

She rummaged in her bag and produced parchment and a quill, then hesitated, rather as though she was steeling herself to say something.

"I — I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think," she took a deep breath, "that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge or anybody else what we're up to."

Fred reached out for the parchment and cheerfully wrote his signature, but I noticed at once that several people looked less than happy at the prospect of putting their names on the list. Neville ignored the apprehensive looks people were giving each other and signed the parchment with a flourish. I followed a moment later.

"Er…" Zacharias said slowly, not taking the parchment that I was trying to pass to him, "well… I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is."

But Ernie was looking rather hesitant about signing, too. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

"I — well, we are _prefects_," Ernie burst out. "And if this list was found…well, I mean to say…you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out —"

"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Harry reminded him.

"I — yes," Ernie said, "yes, I do believe that, it's just —"

"Ernie, do you really think I'd leave that list lying around?" Hermione said testily.

"No. No, of course not," Ernie said, looking slightly less anxious. "I — yes, of course I'll sign."

Nobody raised objections after Ernie. When the last person — Zacharias — had signed, Hermione took the parchment back and slipped it carefully into her bag. There was an odd feeling in the group now. It was as though we had just signed some kind of contract.

**AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I think about the story more. The more I think about it the more I create new twists and turns for the story and I end up updating more. Which in the end makes everyone happy.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Good morning everyone and happy Wednesday. I am very sorry for not updating sooner but I have been reading a lot more and when that happens my writing usually takes a back seat. I'll try to find a better balance so that I'll be able to update all of my stories more. So today is June 15, 2016 and this is the first chapter today. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's and anything you don't is mine.**

_**Neville POV**_

The rest of the weekend was not as exciting as going to The Hog's Head had been. I spent most of Sunday working on homework in the library. Hour after hour passed as I worked and the words swam around on the page.

I shoved away my History of Magic book and ran a hand through my hair. There was no way I could keep working, I was too distracted. All I could think about was Luna. I wanted to ask her to Hogsmeade or to study in the library or really anything. But every time I tried to ask her something stopped me from getting the words out.

I groaned and dropped my head to the table with a loud thunk. How could things have become so strained and confusing? When did I start to look at Luna like the sun shone from her every orifice?

I stayed in that position, with my head on the table for a good twenty minutes before I stacked all my books, parchments and quills in a haphazard pile and made my way to Gryffindor tower. It took me longer than I expected to get back to the tower and it was almost curfew. In fact I had to run a little ways so that I wouldn't be late. The last thing I wanted was to get in trouble with Umbridge who, rumor had it, had it out for every single Gryffindor in the school. Especially Harry Potter's friends, and I liked to consider him a good friend.

The next morning I sleepily made my way down the steps running a hand repeatedly over my tie. No matter what I did it wouldn't lie flat. With a glare I started to untie it but stopped, someone was cursing rather creatively. I looked up from my tie to where Fred and George Weasley were both glaring darkly at the notice board in the middle of the common room.

I took a step closer frowning. A large sign had been affixed to the noticeboard; so large it covered everything else on it - the lists of secondhand spell books for sale, the regular reminders of school rules from Argus Filch, the Quidditch team training timetable, the offers to barter certain Chocolate Frog Cards for others, the Weasleys' latest advertisement for testers, the dates of the Hogsmeade weekends and the lost and found notices. The new sign was printed in large black letters and there was a highly official-looking seal at the bottom beside a neat and curly Signature.

_BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS_

_All student organizations, societies, teams, groups and dubs are henceforth disbanded. An organization, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more __students._

_Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)._

_No student organization, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor._

_Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organization, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

_Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

I found myself staring at the board my mouth open in shock. How the bloody hell did she know? The hag wasn't a seer was she? No...no...those were very rare and if she was she would have taken everyone in for questioning.

I frowned, dazed and confused as I made my way to the Great Hall. How could this have possibly happened?

I ran a hand through my hair and walked into a small, shapely body. The girl squeaked and grabbed onto my arm to keep herself from falling. I looked up slowly into the dark eyes of Cho Chang.

"Oh, hi there Neville," she said tossing her glossy black hair over her shoulder. I frowned but didn't respond. She blinked before continuing, "have you seen Harry yet?"

"No," I said softly glancing over her head. She was much shorter than me and it was easy to see Luna standing behind her, her eyes wide. Slowly, as if in a trance, she raised her hand to her mouth and covered it. "Excuse me, I have a prior engagement."

I could hear Cho's huff of annoyance as I stepped around her and went up to Luna. Luna's eyes widened even further, to the size of dinner plates.

"Did you see the sign?" I whispered softly. It took Luna a moment to respond but when she did her eyes were sparkling brightly.

"Yes, I did, what do you plan to do Neville?" She asked her eyes wide.

"I plan to join this... this group... we really need a name," I muttered shaking my head. "Anyway, I plan to join and do everything I can to make sure I am prepared for what's out there. What will you do?"

"I'm going to join too and on the next Hogsmeade trip I'm going on a date with you to the Three Broomsticks." I stared at Luna bug-eyed and opened my mouth to respond. Nothing came out but a small unmanly squeak and I watched as Luna skipped into the Great Hall her hair flying behind her. She turned back to give me a wink before continuing on. What the bloody hell just happened?

** AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews help me create a story that everyone loves. And the only way to make sure I know you all like it is with reviews telling me what you think, what you love and hate about it. Also any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated and I would give you credit if I used your idea in the Author's Note. Seriously guys every little bit helps.**


	9. Chapter 9

** AN: Good afternoon everyone and happy Thursday. I am very sorry for not updating sooner but life gets in the way. Same with writer's block. It comes at the worst times. I hope to update more in the future, all of my stories in fact. Now on a fun little side note I wanted to let you all know: seven weeks until Christmas! Yay! So today is November 3, 2016 and this is the first chapter today. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's and anything you don't is mine.**

_** Neville POV**_

My classes were anything but boring that day. It seemed everyone was talking about the most recent Educational Decree. The moment Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast Dean, Fred, George and Ginny ran up to Harry to hear what he would say about the noticeboard. I was close enough to hear the conversation.

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

They were all looking at Harry. He glanced around quickly and turned back to them, a determined look on his face,

"We're going to do it anyway of course," he said quietly.

"Knew you'd say that," George said, beaming and thumping Harry on the hand. He winced and grit his teeth but no one else seemed to notice.

"The prefects as well?" Fred said, looking quizzically at Ron and Hermione. Hermione's brown eyes widened and a red flush crossed her cheeks.

"Of course," she said cooly. Fred chuckled and took a step back, a smirk crossing his face. George elbowed him sharply in the side before whispering furiously in his ear.

"Here come Ernie and Hannah Abbott," Ron said, looking over his shoulder. "_And _those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith… and no one looks very spotty."

Hermione looked alarmed.

"Never mind spots, the idiots can't come over here now, it'll look really suspicious - sit down!" she mouthed to Ernie and Hannah, gesturing frantically to them to rejoin the Hufflepuff table. "Later! We'll - talk - to - you - later!"

"I'll tell Michael," Ginny said impatiently, swinging herself off her bench, "the fool, honestly…"

She hurried off towards the Ravenclaw table. Harry watched her, a frown on his face. I let my eyes flick over to where Luna was sitting and was surprised to see that she was staring at me. She didn't look away when our eyes met and I blinked quickly trying to slow my pounding heart.

"Neville!" I jumped and looked up. Ron was pulling on my arm and Hermione stood behind him a small knowing smile on her face. "We're going to be late for class."

I stood and quickly shoved a piece of bacon in my mouth.

History of Magic was its usual boring self until a beautiful snowy owl landed on the windowsill. Something about the way she moved made my heart clench and I quickly realized why, her wing was injured.

Harry stealthily made his way across the room and opened the window for his owl. When she hopped through she almost fell over. He left class shortly after that claiming he needed to go to the hospital wing because he was sick.

The rest of class was slow and boring compared to the beginning of class. I made my way to potions lost in thought, when the voice of Draco Malfoy broke through my thoughts about Luna's beautiful grey eyes.

"I mean if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance… from what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years… and as for Potter… my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St Mungo's… apparently they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic."

My hands curled into fists and my stomach dropped as if I had swallowed a brick.

Malfoy made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling. Crabbe and Goyle gave their usual grunts of laughter; Pansy Parkinson shrieked with glee.

The snarl was out before I could stop it and I shoved Harry aside so I could punch Malfoy right in the nose. HOW DARE HE?!

"Neville, no!" Harry leapt forward and seized the back of my robes; I struggled frantically, my fists flailing, trying desperately to get at Malfoy who looked, for a moment, extremely shocked and scared. Good. He deserved every ounce of fear.

"Help me!" Harry yelled as his arm encircled my throat and dragged me away from the Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle were flexing their arms as they stepped in front of Malfoy, ready for the fight. Ron seized my arms, and together he and Harry succeeded in dragging me back into the Gryffindor line. My face was extremely warm and I knew I had to be a brilliant shade of red; the pressure Harry was exerting on my throat rendered me quite incomprehensible, but a few words spluttered from my mouth.

"Not… funny… don't… Mungo's… show… him…"

The dungeon door opened. Snape appeared there. His black eyes swept up the Gryffindor line to the point where Harry and Ron were wrestling with me. The sneer that crossed his face was a mixture of triumph and hatred.

'Fighting, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom?" Snape said in his cold, sneering voice. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Release Longbottom, Potter, or it will be detention. Inside, all of you."

Harry let go of me and I turned to glare at him.

"I had to stop you," Harry gasped, picking up his bag."'Crabbe and Goyle would've torn you apart."

I said nothing; he merely snatched up my bag and stalked off into the dungeon. How could I ever explain that my parents had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange? There was no one I could tell who would understand. Not even Luna. And that thought made me feel completely and utterly alone.

** AN: Please Review! It helps so much more than you realize. Reviews help me create a story that everyone loves. And the only way to make sure I know you all like it is with reviews telling me what you think, what you love and hate about it. Also any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated and I would give you credit if I used your idea in the Author's Note. Seriously guys every little bit helps.**


End file.
